The Rolling Stones At Hyde Park: The Rockers Have Plenty More To Offer

by Michael West

The Rolling Stones returned to the spot of perhaps their most historic gig on Saturday; Hyde Park.

It sounds frankly ridiculous to suggest the Rolling Stones should be taken seriously, though thanks to the ageism levelled at the band in recent months you would have been forgiven for assuming Mick Jagger was going to be wheeled on-stage at Glastonbury burning £20 notes and playing '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' over, and over, and over, and over.
Of course, Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts made a mockery of the sceptics and delivered one of the most explosive and entertaining Glastonbury sets in years. The Sunday papers were awash with five-star reviews, greatest hits albums flew off the shelves, everyone LOVED the Stones again - but Hyde Park was still to come.
Delighting 65,000 fans in London on Saturday (July 6), The Stones just about managed to clutch onto their tag as the world's greatest rock n' roll band with an unstoppable setlist that included 'Paint It Black,' 'Gimmie Shelter,' 'Sympathy for the Devil,' 'Midnight Rambler' and 'You Can't Always Get What You Want.'

"The inevitable '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' finish the show, and it's hard to believe, as Keith Richards grins through his fag smoke, that they won't be back doing it all again soon," said Michael Hann of The Guardian. Bernadette McNulty of The Telegraph continued the praise, writing, "Armchair critics were most scathing about the decrepitude of the band's looks. But in the flesh Jagger's demented jerking or Keith Richards' snarling, arthritic lurch appeared strangely heroic."Forty-four years ago, hundreds of thousands turned up at Hyde Park to watch the Stones play for free - just days after the death of Brian Jones. Saturday's concert was more civilised, though the Stones' haven't lost an inch of the magic.